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AP English Literature

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Sophocles is often credited as the author of the “tragic hero,” a type of character that sets the stage for more modern examples like Hamlet, Othello, and Frankenstein.
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Perhaps the most marked difference is the concentration on the individual, typically characterized by a kind of heroic and splendid isolation.
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Of the seven surviving plays, only one is named for the chorus—the rest names their protagonists.

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The circumstances differ, but in each case, the main character is faced with a crisis in which disaster can only be averted by a compromise that, in the protagonist’s view, would constitute betrayal of something that he or she holds to be supremely important.
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The protagonist often refuses to compromise, despite being urged to do so by persuasive speeches, threats, actual violence, or all three.
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The end result is usually complete destruction.

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In all six of these plays, the protagonist is referred to as a deinos, a Greek word meaning “terrible, wondrous, strange.”
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The protagonists are often paired with another character who is more normal, more like an everyday person.
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This second character often pleads with the protagonist to yield and is harshly rebuffed. (note how the chorus often fulfills that role)
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These protagonists are indeed deinos—they are both repellant and admirable.

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The isolated protagonist is not the only important characteristic of
Sophocles tragedy; equally obvious is the almost total absence of the gods—though they are often referred to.
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With the exception of Athena in one of the plays, the gods do not appear at all.
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Yet, plays like Antigone demonstrate that the laws of the gods are paramount to human will and desire—and look what happens when they are ignored.
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Thus, the characters are left to determine the will of the gods through signs, omens, and prophecies—oracles which are often unclear and purposefully evasive.
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Clearly this underscores the isolation of the characters.
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Furthermore, it offers us an understanding of the beginning of man’s tragedy—his lack of certainty, his struggle to negate tragedy, his attempts to achieve solidarity.

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The question of man’s will and the gods’ power was a topic hotly debated at the time, especially by a group of controversial thinkers called Sophists.
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The Sophists were a group of teachers who specialized in teaching rhetoric and techniques of argumentation. They often taught their students to make the weaker argument appear stronger—it was not a matter of truth. Of course, the sophists questioned the very existence of truth.
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They espoused a naturalistic view of of morality and religion, questioning the universal validity of morals.
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The most famous Sophist was Protagorus, best remembered for his statement
“man is the measure of all things”—a statement often misunderstood. ( he is also reported to have taught that moral beliefs are true for the communities in which they are held.)
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Most importantly, they questioned the validity of oracles, which implies questioning the very existence of the gods.

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Terribly relevant to the questions of Sophism
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Often read out of context, the ode takes on something of a positive reading….Sophocles’ celebration of humanism and humanistic value.
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Yet read in the context of the play, the ode seems much less positive
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First, the word translated “wonders” is deinos, which already gives a negative slant to the ode, and many of the skills for which the chorus praises man, such as shipbuilding, are themselves ambiguous.
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The chorus concludes that all of human cleverness has not found an escape from death (from our own human frailty).
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Seen in context, then, the “Ode to Man” is not a celebration of humanism, but rather a reminder of his limitations of the humanism of the Sophists and of its failing points.